Sights

Puerto Bories is in the Última Esperanza province of Chile's XII region, located about 2.5 hours north of Punta Arenas, on Seno Última Esperanza (Last Hope Sound). Take Ruta 9 from Punta Arenas toward Puerto Natales (easily accessible by regular and inexpensive bus service). Puerto Bories is 3 km to the northwest of Puerto Natales.

Puerto Bories was founded as a company town for the Sociedad Explotadora Tierra del Fuego (SETF) and in construction from about 1910 to 1914, with additional work after that date.  The site had been previously used for other smaller scale operations, including a tallow-production activity and a small sawmill.  The SETF operation at Pto Bories, locally known as the "frigorifico" (freezer plant) consisted of a processing center for the sheep from the stations (estancias) in the surrounding parts of Chile and Argentina. The resulting products included mutton, fat (tallow), wool, hides, and the "tripas" (offal).  The SETF operation contained its own power generation, which at first was fired by coal and wood, and later by natural gas that was (and is) available in the region. The coal and gas fired steam boilers powered an electrical generation system as well as the extensive refrigeration works necessary to freeze the meat products that were held for periods of time in cold lockers while awaiting ships that would transport these products to markets, primarily in the United Kingdom.  Although the SETF was locally incorporated (in Chile ) most of the management and technology, and capital, were British or from the British Commonwealth. 

A small residential community was established surrounding the industrial plant and included housing for the managers and senior technical personnel, who were mostly though not exclusively British. There were also tennis courts, a football (soccer) field, and a swimming pool, and even a radio station.  Later, a hotel, the "Hotel Cisne de Cuello Negro," was added, and it is still in operation. The name of the hotel derives from the Black Necked Swan which is commonly seen in the waters near Bories and elsewhere in southern Chile. There is an abundance of wild bird life in this area, including Patagonian geese, caracara birds, and many others. During the winter, Chilean flamingos can often be seen in the waters near Puerto Bories.  Across the Sound, to the west, is Cerro Ballena (Whale Mountain) on whose lofty crags are the nests of the huge condors that can be sometimes be seen soaring high above.   

From Puerto Bories there are also views to the northwest, to the end of Last Hope Sound, where the glaciers Balmaceda and Serrano can be seen. Just beyond these glaciers is the southern field of the Patagonian Ice Cap.   

Today (2006) the "frigorifico" at Puerto Bories is a national monument and museum.  The "machine room" (sala de maquinas)  offers a look back into the types of steam-driven machinery that characterized the Industrial Revolution as it was exported from Britain to Latin America. Guided tours are available for a nominal fee and these allow visitors to view the largest and best preserved operation of its type in all of Patagonia. The nearby residential area, or "Villa Frigorifico Bories," is now privately owned and not part of the museum, though it can be freely visited. There,  with the little gardens and white chimneys and picket fences, many of the houses  recall a style and the times of a small British outpost.